


In Veritate

by Iaveina



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M, Minecraft, Minor hallucinations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-02-20
Packaged: 2018-01-13 04:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1212874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iaveina/pseuds/Iaveina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Getting stuck in The Nether was never a good thing. Add in a dash of Netherwart and, well…things get worse. Minecraft!AU. Freewood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Veritate

**Author's Note:**

> [Vavman](http://vavman.tumblr.com/post/73767942321/yeah-okay-but-where-is-my-freewood-fic-of-gavin) put out a wonderful little prompt yesterday about Gavin and Ryan being trapped in the Nether and I couldn’t resist!
> 
> Unfortunately you don’t really get the…rescue mission aspect. So just pretend the others were running around trying to get more Obsidian or something xD
> 
> Can be found on tumblr [here](http://iaveinabox.tumblr.com/post/73892101578/in-veritate).

It all happened far too quickly. One moment he was stepping into the portal, purple lights swirling around his body and transporting him away from the Overworld into the relative unknown. Beside him, the result of weeks of diamond mining glistening as armour across his body, stood Ryan; sword in hand and a determined look on his face that he knew was mirrored upon his own. The next….well.

Their plan had fallen apart the moment the world materialised before them, bathed in a fierce haze of fire that brushed past his skin - skimming the tiny hairs on his arms with an uncomfortable wave of heat - and confusion rang through his very being. He heard Ryan yell, the words indecipherable to his ears, and felt strong hands gripping the fabric of his shirt, yanking him backwards and behind a low wall nearby.

“Are you okay?!”

Over the roaring sound in his ears he finally began to orientate himself. Confused eyes taking in the burning remains of melted obsidian that stood where the portal once was as Ryan’s face - blue eyes almost glowing with the adrenaline that pulsed through his veins - came into view above him. He pushed himself to his knees, unable to remember falling flat to the floor, nodding as panic spread through him.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” he gulped, slumping against the wall and running a hand through his shaggy hair. “Please don’t say that our portal’s destroyed.”

Ryan was silent as he searched through his pack, shooting the odd furtive look over the wall towards where the ghast loomed. Unable to see them - but knowing they were there - it held its fire, waiting for them to step out from behind their feeble shelter and into certain death. Hazel eyes stared at the older man’s hands as they methodically pulled items out and laid them onto the ground below them.

“What are you doing?”

The hands froze inches from a wooden bow, light callouses across long fingers visible in the simmering light of the fire that engulfed their way out. “I’m getting ready.”

“Ready for what?”

Ryan looked up, an unimpressed look on his face as he glowered at Gavin; his blue eyes serious as they took in Gavin’s ruffled and slightly afraid appearance. “Our portal is  _gone_ Gavin, we’re going to need to survive in here until the others can come and get us.”

“How long d’you think that will take?” He asked quietly, pulling his bow from his back and checking the number of arrows in his holster. Ryan shrugged, returning to his task without a second glance.

“Who knows,” he replied, checking his bow - clearly cared for less than Gavin’s, complete with small notches in the wood from where it had rubbed against something in Ryan’s pack - for functionality and shifting to see how much of a reach he had when holding the bow outstretched. “We need to get rid of that ghast before we do anything.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow as he stared at Ryan’s bow. “D’you want me to do it?” Ryan ignored him, standing up to his full height as he aimed the arrow and drew back the bowstring. He let it go with a barely audible ‘twang’ and Gavin watched with interest as the arrow missed the ghast by inches. The monster roared, a grinding metallic sound that reverberated uncomfortably around the cavern, and shot fire towards the older man.

Ryan immediately ducked back down as the fireball whizzed over his head, tinting his sandy hair in anamber glow as it passed. Gavin sorted. “I thought you had better aim than that.”

“Now isn’t the time for jokes Gavin,” Ryan retorted, reaching forward to pick up another arrow. Gavin sighed, smacked his hand out of the way and picked up a handful of arrows himself. He peaked out from behind the low wall, ignoring the wails of the ghast, and readied himself.

“Watch how a pro does it,  _Ryan_ ,” he taunted, diving out from behind the wall and sprinting across the ledge. The ghast screeched and threw fireballs his way, lighting the ground on fire as it hit where he previously stood, giving Gavin had a split second to look up and run a series of calculations in his mind before - coming to the end of the ledge - he let fly a flurry of arrows towards the creature. Each one hit its mark and the ghast gave one last excruciating screech before dissolving into a heap of glowing green orbs. “Ah  _ha_! Take  _that_  you giant, firey prick!”

In his peripheral vision he could see Ryan step out from behind the wall, eyes carefully scanning the area for more enemies even though the initial danger was no longer present. He had a split second to register the odd look on Ryan’s face before the ground beneath him, weakened by the flames that still burnt freely, crumbled beneath his feet.

The drop wasn’t far at all, and he’d barely let out a cry of surprise before his body collided with the ground beneath him. He fell backwards, his head uncomfortably resting upon something soft and squishy, and watched with blurry eyes as Ryan hurriedly made his way down to him. A burst of light later, helpfully supplied by the torch gripped in the other man’s hands, and Gavin found himself coming to his senses with a groan.

“Ugh…”

“That’s very professional,” he chuckled, carefully stepping towards Gavin and helping him to his feet. “Kill a ghast and then fall down a hole…”

“Shhh,” Gavin groaned in response, dusting himself off. “I’m  _very_ professional I’ll have you kno-ACHOO!” He sneezed violently and without warning, disrupting the air around him and causing small specks of darkened spores to rise up into the air. “Woah, I’m so-”

Ryan grabbed his arm and dragged him down a dimly lit corridor without a word, the grip on his arm almost painful as Gavin squirmed in protest.

“What the bloody hell are you doing?!”

“Did you not see them?” Ryan demanded, coming to an abrupt halt as he spoke. He spun to face him, eyes rapidly scanning the younger man for _something_. “Did you breathe it in?”

“ _Huh?_ ”

“The Netherwart! Did you breathe in the spores?”

“I don’t thi-”

“GAVIN! RYAN!”

Gavin’s ears perked up at the shout, unmistakably Geoff’s voice from somewhere nearby. He tried to turn, tried to ease the death-grip that Ryan still held on his arm, and see if he could see any indication of his friend.

“Geoff! We’re down here!”

“Gavin, what are you do-”

“It’s Geoff! He’s come to get us out of here!”

“Gavin,  _Gav_ , that’s not Geo-”

“Yes it is! Didn’t you hear him call our names?”

Ryan’s other hand came up to grip Gavin’s other arm and the younger man squirmed, eager to head in the direction Geoff’s voice had come from; eager to get out of The Nether and back to the Overworld. Ryan eyes, still holding an aspect of seriousness to them, were closely mixing with a look of concern as he carefully held steady, waiting until Gavin’s protests went quiet before speaking.

“You’ve inhaled Netherwart spores,” he said slowly, clearly enunciating his words in a way Gavin had never heard him do before. “It contains a strong hallucinogen. Do you understand what that means?”

“Er,” Gavin started, trying to listen to Ryan over the sound of Geoff’s calls from nearby. It was hard, his attention naturally wanting to listen to the voice of freedom over the voice of reason, but Ryan’s strong hold managed to anchor him enough to try. “I’m going to catch a cold?”

Ryan glared. “You’re going to see and hear things that aren’t there,” he explained, slowly releasing his grip on Gavin and stepping back. “These things might lead you into trouble Gav, don’t listen to them.”

The younger man huffed and folded his arms defiantly. “I’ll listen to whatever I want,  _Ryan_ ,” he grumbled, following Ryan as he moved down the corridor, checking carefully around every turn they came to in his search for somewhere safe.

The next cavern they found was small, with only one entrance and not nearly big enough for a ghast to spawn - therefore putting it at the top of their ‘somewhere safe’ list. Gavin trudged in behind Ryan and made a beeline for the wall where he sat, slumped disinterestedly against the cool surface as Ryan stuck torches on the wall.

“Hey, Ryan,” he started, his mind desperately trying to block out the sound of Geoff’s pleas even as the floor before him morphed into glass. Ryan sat himself down next to him, raising an eyebrow in question as Gavin spoke. Gavin took that as his cue to continue. “Am I Edgar?”

Ryan’s amused snort was almost too loud, ringing throughout the cavern and drowning out Geoff’s call. “Not unless you can suddenly produce milk.”

Gavin’s brow furrowed in confusion, and he looked through the glass at his feet to the cow below. Its pleading eyes stared up at him in desperation as its face swum in his vision and the shadows produced by the torches illuminated a series of moving shapes on the walls. Ryan carefully followed his gaze, unable to see the show that dominated Gavin’s mind, and gently patted him on the knee.

“It’s not there Gav, relax.”

“Hmmm?”

“Whatever you’re seeing, it’s not there.”

Gavin swallowed heavily and shifted as he slowly stood, traversing into the middle of the room to the centre of the glass. Edgar still stared.

“I fell down a hole,” he replied quietly, bending down to place his hand flat against the cool surface. He flexed his fingers outwards, mesmerised by their span, and chuckled. “That makes me Edgar.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Ryan suggested, his deep voice calming to Gavin’s senses. The younger man didn’t turn to look at him as he spoke, moving his fingers against the glass slowly. “You should come back over here and sit down.”

“Nah, I’m keeping him company. Since you won’t let me go and find Geoff.”

He could hear Ryan move, his footsteps loud against the glass of the floor as he approached the centre of the room. “Why do you want Geoff to be here?”

Gavin shrugged, smiling comfortingly down at the trapped cow as Ryan came into its view. “He’ll look after me, he’s like my dad y’know. He cares for me.”

“And you don’t think I do?”

“Hmmmm?”

“Care for you, I mean,” Ryan’s hand joined his on the glass, the taller man leaning down to place his hand alongside his own.”You may be annoying sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade you for the world.”

“Hmmm.”

“And you worry me sometimes. Like now, when you’re not in your right mind… I’m worried you’ll hurt yourself.”

Gavin placed his hand on top of Ryan’s, marvelling at their different sizes and a comfortable warmth spread through his chest. “I’ll be fine.”

Ryan’s other hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, Gavin’s head shooting up to see demonic eyes glowering into his own, their owner wearing a deadly grin as he licked his lips. “You are  ** _mine_**.”

Gavin shrieked and flew backwards, his wrist throbbing from where he’d wrenched it from Ryan’s grip. He ignored the confused cry that came from the action as he sprinted from the cavern and back down the lit corridor.

“GEOFF!” He screamed, his confused mind highlighting a passageway he hadn’t seen before. Soft voices telling him that he could get back to his portal and be away from Ryan’s threat as heavy footsteps followed him. “HELP ME!”

“Gavin! You’re hallucinating! Stop!”

Breathing heavily he emerged on the ledge, the smouldering remains of the portal still evident, and he rushed to the edge; heart pounding in his chest.

“G-geoff?” He called, looking around for his friend and father-figure and seeing no one. “C’mon, this isn’t funny!”

“Geoff isn’t here Gavin,” Ryan explained and Gavin jumped, not having seen him appear. His eyes flickered between blood red and brilliant blue and caused the ball of confusion in his gut to clench terribly. “He’s never been here. He’s in the Overworld, trying to figure out a way to get us home I’ll bet.”

“Liar! Geoff!” Gavin spun around, the cavern below the ledge glowing from the fires that burned on its surface. With wild eyes he searched, jumping when Ryan’s arms enveloped his waist from behind and dragged him away from the edge. “Help me!”

“Ssshhh, you’re okay,” Ryan soothed, his tone relaxing Gavin’s body even if his mind still whirled in panic. “You’re safe, I promise.”

“What’s wrong with me?” He whispered, closing his eyes tightly against the steady blurring of colour before him. Ryan turned him, hugging him to his chest and running a hand soothingly through his hair.

“Nothing permanent, it’ll wear off soon enough and you’ll be able to see how much of a - what was it? - tit you were.”

Gavin chuckled weakly, resting his head against Ryan’s chest. “I am no-”

A screech and the high whizzing sound of a fireball were the only warnings he had before Ryan shoved him away. He hit the ground hard, his eyes flying open as Ryan was engulfed by the ghast’s fireball and vanished, sending a mental signal through him.

‘ _RYAN HAYWOOD HAS BURNED TO DEATH._ ’

Gavin stared, his jaw dropping in shock as his mind rapidly tried to catch up. He looked around frantically, waiting for the hallucination to disappear and for Ryan to appear on the ledge with a comforting look.

But nothing came.

The ghast screeched, bringing him harshly back to reality, and he rolled out of the way of another fireball that threatened to end him as it had ended Ryan. Gasping, his crawled backwards towards the remains of their former portal as the ghast aimed again.

Behind him a warping sound came and strong arms pulled him upright with a shout. He got a quick glance of another portal, fully formed this time, before he was pulled out in a swirl of purple and sparks; collapsing into the arms of his saviour as the bright light of the Overworld shone down upon them.

“Phew, I’m glad I re-spawned here and not back in Achievement City!”

Gavin opened the eyes he didn’t know he’d closed, looking up into Ryan’s cheerful face. He raised a hand, gently running it down Ryan’s cheek - taking in its solid warmth with the pads of his fingertips - as a small smile spread across his lips. “You’re real, right?”

Ryan nodded with a smirk, lifting Gavin up and away from the worried chatterings of the other Achievement Hunters. “Very real.”

“Thanks for saving me.”

Ryan’s proud and triumphant grin was worth it, Gavin thought. It lit up his eyes and made him look years younger than he was. “I told you I cared for you.”

Dimly he registered Ray’s yell of ‘gaaaaaaay’ from somewhere to his right but that didn’t matter as he raised his head and gently took Ryan’s lips in his own. The kiss was soft and tender, almost shy in essence, and as Gavin broke away he replied.

“Thank you.”


End file.
